


Communication in the First

by orphan_account



Series: The "Saw You Say It" 'verse [2]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: ASL, Ableism, American Sign Language, Deaf, Hearing aids, M/M, Oral, Sign Language, accidental ableism, argument, deafness, morgan sticks up for reid, rossi is a dick, speech therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 10:39:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3171722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I only ever signed if I visited my mom; she never wanted me to speak. She said I was born with a beautiful language so why learn another?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Communication in the First

Spencer sat, looking from person to person, completely disconnected as Morgan and Rossi argued back and forth across the desk and JJ and Emily supplied minimal input around him. Their expressions were firm and angry, their body language clearly annoyed, but the two men shouted so fast and manically that Spencer failed to understand why the argument had started or why it was still going on. 

He watched Derek's face grow even fiercer as Rossi threw a comment and it perplexed him - he knew Derek's expressions easily, could tell his moods with a change in his eyes and because he had no idea why he was so angry, it brewed anger within himself. 

David braced his hands on the table and Spencer looked to him, watching his brow furrow and his lips move quickly as he balled at his colleague relentlessly. 

The row escalated and Spencer slammed his hands onto the table with as much force as he could manage. It achieved his desired goal immediately. Rossi and Morgan looked at him, their fight halted in it's tracks, and both JJ and Emily jumped at the sudden noise. 

"What's the matter?" Derek asked carefully, signs a little shaky as he trembled with anger. 

Spencer got to his feet and boosted his uncertain voice as clearly as he could. "Stop fighting!"

David looked uneasy at Spencer's outburst, holding his hands out as if to pacify Spencer from a distance. "Look, Reid..." 

"Include me." Spencer jabbed his signs at Rossi despite knowing the man understood little to no ASL at all, his face a picture of annoyance. 

"Spencer, it's okay." Emily spoke as she smoothed her hands through the air and took a few steps closer to Spencer. 

"Spence, I'm sorry, I just lost my temper." Derek spoke quietly as he turned to his partner, signing slowly.

"Why?" Spencer quizzed. 

Derek silenced, considering the exchanged between himself and Rossi. "It's stupid."

"Me?" Spencer asked, inquisitive eyebrows crooked. When Derek didn't answer, he looked to Rossi. 

"It's nothing personal." David began, tentatively. 

"Just stop, alright?" Derek snapped. "I'm done standing between you and him working." He raised his voice again and Spencer watched his face, trying to understand. "You don't want him on this case, you tell him. Because I won't."

"Morgan, you're blowing this way out of proportion." Rossi said firmly. "I know he's good. He's smart. But this is a public case, too public." 

"So?" JJ challenged.

"And what?" Derek shouted back, "because he signs, he'll make the BAU look incompetent? He's got more profiling skill and intelligence in his left hand than half of us put together." 

"He is also standing right in front of both of you." Hotchner's voice cut through the atmosphere with deep authority and his improving signs brought Spencer back into the conversation. "Reid is coming to LA with the rest of the team." Hotch looked to Rossi with the final word. "Morgan, Rossi, I want you both in my office. Emily can you brief Spencer on the Mueller case? JJ, organise the jet - I want to be leaving in less than two hours." 

Spencer watched everyone but Emily leave and waited for the door to close before launching into a torrent of angry signs that moved too fast for Emily to accurately read. She touched his arms to ground him and looked him in the eyes. 

"I'm sorry." Her hand circled neatly on her chest. "That wasn't fair."

"I don't understand." Spencer looked at her, lost and hurt. "He was fighting with Derek because he thinks I can't do this?" 

Emily nodded, "He doesn't know you yet."

"He should." Spencer's hands sliced angrily. 

Emily nodded sadly. "I know."

Spencer's face drew tight, his anger not subsiding. "I am good at my job." 

"I know." She repeated, more forcefully. 

Spencer breathed deeply and looked at Emily with angry tears brimming in his eyes. "I am so tired of proving myself."

"You don't have to prove anything." Emily enforced. "You are a good profiler. And Morgan is right, you have more brains than I could ever hope for." She smiled and Spencer sighed. 

"I wore hearing aids until I started this job." Spencer signed slowly, carefully, and kept his eyes focused on Emily's reactions. "I used to lip read and was almost exclusively oral, despite having had very little speech therapy. I only ever signed if I visited my mom; she never wanted me to speak. She said I was born with a beautiful language so why learn another?" 

Emily smiled softly. "ASL is beautiful."

"College was tough, being the deaf kid. So talking and lip reading made the already odd kid a bit less odd." Spencer licked his lips. "I was the genius kid with hearing aids who talked funny, instead of the idiot deaf kid. And then I met Gideon who saw my intelligence, not my deafness. And then Derek, who refused to make me work to talk to him; he came to me, he signed, and he repeat my mom's words."

"So hold onto that." Emily replied firmly, "Hold onto your mom's encouragement. Be surrounded in your genius and your deafness, Spencer, because it is Rossi's loss if he cannot see past your hands." 

Spencer paced back and forth for a moment, his back to Emily, then gave her his full attention. "The Mueller case. What don't I know?" 

Emily smiled, unsure if Spencer was calm or just ignoring the issue, and began to detail the case. (She didn't offer up anything Spencer hadn't already known.)


End file.
